Spring sports suspended through end of April

IHSAA, IGHSAU to release new schedule later today

Troy Banning

Sports Editor

tbanning@freemanjournal.net

Webster City’s Tatum Goings goes over a hurdle during a 2019 track and field meet in Gilbert. The 2020 season has been suspended through the end of April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DFJ file photo/Troy Banning

WEBSTER CITY — The Webster City girls’ track and field team was supposed to open its outdoor season later today at the Richard Ryan Relays in Gowrie. The Lynx boys’ team had tomorrow’s Eagle Grove Relays on its docket as the official kickoff of the 2020 season.

Soccer was supposed to start last week. Tennis and golf, those were to follow in the coming days.

It’s all on hold, of course, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union announced on Friday that the wait-and-see approach will be extended too.

But, hey, suspension is better than cancellation, right?

Following Governor Kim Reynolds’ announcement on Thursday that schools across Iowa will remain closed through April 30, the state’s two governing bodies for prep athletics said on Friday that spring activities will also remain suspended through the end of the month.

The IHSAA and IGHSAU are still working to offer spring and summer sports opportunities, the release said, provided they can be done safely and follow CDC, state, and local guidelines.

“We are committed to bringing a sense of familiarity to our young people whose school year has been so disrupted by this adjusted spring season,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said. “It is our hope that students return to school on the current target date and have the opportunity to participate in the activities that mean so much to them.

“Like all Iowans, we are committed to doing our part to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and we support the steps Governor Reynolds has taken to achieve that goal.”

The IHSAA and IGHSAU said an updated schedule for activities will be released sometime later today. The dates will provide for a May 1 return to school.